Displays in image display devices, such as television devices, are now being shifted from conventional cathode-ray tube displays to thin displays, such as liquid crystal displays and plasma displays. With the thin displays, the thicknesses of the image display devices can be reduced. Liquid crystal panels included in liquid crystal display devices do not emit light, and thus backlight devices are required as separate lighting devices. An edge light-type backlight device including a light guide plate with a light entrance surface on the side and light sources such as LEDs arranged closer to the side of the light guide plate is known as an example of such backlight devices.
With recent increase in size of a liquid crystal display device, a demand for reduction in thickness of the liquid crystal display device or in size of a frame thereof has been raised. Patent document 1 discloses an edge-light type backlight device that can reduce the thickness and the frame-size.
In recent years, a demand for reduction in production cost or a demand for further reduction in thickness has been raised. Therefore, a configuration without a cabinet, which is made of a synthetic resin and serves as an exterior member of a liquid crystal display unit, has been considered. A liquid crystal display device without such a cabinet can reduce the thickness or the frame-size by the size of the cabinet.